How to Use the Holidays to Crowdsource Blogposts for Your Radio Station

Can you feel it? We're in the home stretch before the holidays. Pretty soon, the snow will start falling, the record label reps will stop calling, and we'll all get more than our fill of Adam Sandler's “Chanukah Song.”

To create a blogpost like this, first identify the people in your local community that you want to pose your question to. These can be a variety of influencers in your market, including athletes, local band members, journalists, chefs, religious leaders, comedians, etc. You want to target people who have their own following in your market because you want them to share your blogpost with their fanbase.

Once you have your list, find their email addresses online and craft a short email that explains what you are doing and what question you'd like them to answer. For the podcasting blogpost above, I sent out this solicitation email:

Our founder, Fred Jacobs, has a blog that is widely read by the radio broadcasting industry. We’re working on a podcast that gathers together the input from a dozen experts about podcast marketing. We’d love to include you. Would you be willing to write a paragraph or two in response to this question:

“If you were launching a brand new podcast and you had $100,000 to spend on marketing it, how would you spend the money?”

Don't forget to ask people for their job title, headshot, and a link to their website so that you can include these in the post.

Not everybody will respond, so it's a good idea to ask for more answers than you need. Also, you may want to aim for a diverse group of respondents. This might mean a mixture of people with different jobs, genders, ages, ethnicities, and physical locations.

Of course, the big question is, “What should we ask them?” Here are some idea starters for the holidays:

What's your favorite holiday song?

What's a great local gift to give somebody this holiday season?

What's the best gift you've ever received?

What's the worst gift you've ever received?

What's your favorite holiday recipe?

What's your favorite holiday cocktail? Provide the recipe.

What's your favorite holiday movie or TV special? Why?

What's your favorite thing about [your city] during the holidays?

Tell us about a holiday tradition that you have.

What do you want for Christmas this year?

Once you've gotten enough responses, publish your blogpost and share it on social media. Be sure to tag all of the contributors in your social media post. Also, email them the link to the published post and invite them to share it on social media as well. If they do, the post may go viral.

Because it's easier to write a single paragraph than an entire blogpost, inviting multiple contributors is often a more effective way to crowdsource content. If your station has never enlisted local community members to be a part of its blog, give it a try this holiday season.

Seth Resler is a 20-year broadcasting veteran who has worked behind both the mic and the programming desk in major markets, including New York City, Boston, Seattle, St. Louis, Providence, and San Jose. He left radio in 2006 to enter the world of online marketing. But he kept returning to the broadcasting industry, teaching radio stations how to apply the online marketing techniques being used by Silicon Valley companies. He writes a weekly column on AllAccess.com, offering internet strategies for radio broadcasters. In 2015, Seth joined us as our Digital Dot Connector, helping radio stations combine all of their digital tools into one overarching strategy.

About Seth Resler

Seth Resler is a 20-year broadcasting veteran who has worked behind both the mic and the programming desk in major markets, including New York City, Boston, Seattle, St. Louis, Providence, and San Jose. He left radio in 2006 to enter the world of online marketing. But he kept returning to the broadcasting industry, teaching radio stations how to apply the online marketing techniques being used by Silicon Valley companies. He writes a weekly column on AllAccess.com, offering internet strategies for radio broadcasters. In 2015, Seth joined us as our Digital Dot Connector, helping radio stations combine all of their digital tools into one overarching strategy.